Cycles in Life
by Ori
Summary: Three years after a war with Sound, peace was slowlying healing the scars of war and life was finally getting back to normal for people in Konoha but when the betrayer Sasuke Uchiha was found nearly dead everything dove quickly back into chaos. [sasusaku]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: The Naruto characters are not mine.

* * *

**Cycles in Life - Chapter 1**

* * *

It was like waking up from any nightmares. Slowly the uneasy feelings in her heart turned into fear as the fog cleared up in her mind. But unlike normal nightmares where reality would give comfort, she found absolutely none. This time, all she found when she opened her eyes was blood.

She panicked.

Ignoring the sharp pain emitting from every muscles in her body she pushed herself off the ground and sat up unsteadily. Her head was throbbing, spinning, wanting to explode at any moment, the pain was almost surreal. Perhaps she was still dreaming. Meekly, she lifted her hand and touched her forehead. It was wet. She looked at her fingers. They were red.

Looking past her fingers she suddenly noticed a small stream of blood making its way around the pebbles, the small dents, and a few dry leafs toward her. She frowned. The ground was flat; the blood should not be flowing at that speed. Her gaze followed the trail and quickly found the origin – laying a few meters in front of her was a thick eyebrow teenage boy. She knew him.

The scene was all too familiar.

It was just like that time at the forest during her first Chuunin exam, except this time there were no friends hiding behind the bushes. This time they were truly alone. To add to her misery, with two dislocated shoulders, a broken leg and a profuse headache, she could do nothing but watch, helplessly, dumbly, as her enemy kicked her unconscious friend, then with a wicked grin on his face began to advance toward her.

Hideous laugher rang non-stop in the thick air. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, trying to come up with an escape plan, but she found nothing. It was hopeless. In despair she closed her eyes and waited for the attack that never reached her. In time she reopened her eyes and saw, to her utter horror that the bleeding Lee was once again in front of her, and from the unnatural strong chakra emitting from him Sakura knew, right away, that he opened his gates – to be exact five of his gates.

_"He will die if he attempts to open the gates again,"_ Tsunade's warning echoed in her ears.

She yelled his name and begged him to stop but once again she was powerless. She knew her voice would never reach him. He was already in his fighting trance, it was simply too late. She was once again the defenceless princess on top of a tower waiting for her prince charming. Lee would die and it would all be because of her. Occupied by this train of thought she did not notice the battle ended until she heard a loud thud in front of her. There lying at her feet was Lee in very bad shape. Somehow, she managed to push herself closer to her fallen friend.

"Sakura-san... you are okay..." Lee said in a weak but relieved voice when he saw her, "I am glad..." His breathing was strenuous, he looked tired, but on his face was still his trademark grin.

"Why..." Sakura whispered, "Why did you come..." She could feel tears gathering in her eyes, tears she vowed not to shed after _his_ departure. "I...I never wanted _you_ to help me, I never asked you to help me! Why do you always come?"

"I promised you I would protect you with my life, I am not one to break a promise," he murmured before wincing suddenly. His whole body hurt, every breath, every word took so much effort. He escaped death once, but he knew he was just lucky. No one could be lucky so many times. He looked at the girl in front of him again. She was pretty, he decided with a tint of regret, even in her tears. How he wished she would go on a date with him some time before. If he survived, though he doubted he would, he would definitely ask her out again.

On second thoughts, why should he wait and see if he would survive? There was no harm in asking, especially if he was to die in the next fifteen minutes. If she says no then too bad, but if she says yes then even if he dies he would he would die happy.

"Lee..." she was prepared to scream at the boy, to say how stupid he was for trying to save her, but her voice failed when Lee weakly touched her hand.

"Hey Sakura-san?" he muttered, "If I survive this, will you go on a date with me?"

Sakura did not answer because she was crying, but from her eyes, Lee could tell she would. He smiled, Gai-sensei was right once again – perseverance won him the girl. Now, if only Sakura was smiling instead of crying he would be contented. "Smile idiot..." he muttered again, forced his words out with much effort. Talking was beginning to become difficult, and so was keeping his words comprehensible, "I will be alright... I want to see... happy."

Sakura bit her lips and willed herself to stop crying. She tried her best to force a smile on her face and after a few attempts finally managed to put on a stiff smile. Lee seemed satisfied. "You better survive this, I would hate to die for nothing," he whispered in an almost playful tone. Then he paused for a moment, as if contemplating before he added something too soft to be heard properly. From the way his lips parted, he might have said, "But then again, anything for you is worth it." Anything at all.

No one would know for sure.

The nightmare should have ended then, but fate was especially cruel that day. No sooner did the boy say his last words did hideous laughter filled the air once again. Sakura looked up and saw to her dismay her enemy, supposedly dead, was rising slowly with two energy ball charging in his hands. He wanted her dead. He wanted to make Lee's sacrifice completely meaningless...

It was then when a sudden rage, a sudden boost of energy filled her. Ignoring the pain she somehow managed to snap her shoulders back into place. Then without thinking she cut her finger with her kunai and summoned. She was determined to summon the great slug Katsuyu, the one she always wanted but never managed to summon – and she did.

* * *

"I have finished healing those Jounin you assigned to me, Tsunade-sama. May I go early today?" eighteen years old Haruno Sakura asked wearily.

The fifth Hokage observed the Jounin in front of her silently before she made any comments. "Going to that boy's grave again?"

Sakura nodded curtly, for a moment pain surfaced in her eyes but they instantly hardened. When she finally spoke, her voice was nonchalant, "It is that day again."

"Yes it is," Tsunade agreed solemnly before allowing silence to grow. She caught the girl's eyes, they did not waver. She sighed and giving an impatient wave toward the door she added. "Off you go then." With an utter of thanks and a fleeting smile Sakura headed out of the door without another word, leaving Tsunade alone in her office once again. The Fifth shook her head sadly as she watched her student disappear around the corner, crackling the dry leafs on the floor as she walked away. It was autumn again just like the time when the boy died.

_A ninja must not show his emotion in any situation._

_A ninja must prioritize his mission first and must not show any tears._

These were the codes for ninjas, but if a ninja's worth was judged solely by these two codes then majority of the ninjas in Leaf would be a failure. Since the war three years ago, Sakura had fallen out of the norm. She stopped crying, even during the boy's funeral her eyes stayed dry. She became a good ninja, but at what cost? She could not speak against the codes, but sometimes looking at the girl was painful. Sakura was not the happiest person in the world even in their first meeting – Sakura, all these years back, sitting timidly on the white hospital chair next to that boy Uchiha. The difference was that back then there were still times, times like the moment the boy woke up from his coma, when a genuine smile would find its place on her face.

She sighed deeply again.

She had taught the girl for five years now, yet it still seemed like yesterday when the girl bowed in front of her begging. She was surprised, because from Kakashi she knew the girl locked herself inside her home after Uchiha left the village. He said she refused to talk to even her parents, but there she was kneeling in front of her with full determination. In a decisive tone she refused without thinking. It was only natural, a Hokage was not suppose to favour any one in the village, let alone a teenage girl with no obvious talents.

But perhaps, it was all those rejections from Sasuke Uchiha, or perhaps it was something else, what ever it was something taught Sakura not to be disheartened by rejections.

That very night Sakura was back, this in front of her house. Tsunade had refused to open the door, but when morning came and she discovered Sakura asleep in her knees in front of her door she could not say she was not moved. She also knew; however, unlike her two team mates, Sakura had an extremely low chakra level. Even if her chakra control was perfect, there was _nothing_ she could possibly teach the girl. So she gave the demanding conditions, hoping to discourage the poor girl – she must climb the cliff over looking the village every day for the next six months if she wanted to become her apprentice.

Summer was replaced by fall and then by winter. The climb became more challenging and a lot less enjoyable as time passed, but every day if she looked up to the cliff at noon she would see the vague outline of a person in red. When Tsunade first gave the condition, she did not expect it met, but it was. And at a time the climb became so dangerous that the girl's parents, quite ironically, went to the Hokage in an attempt to stop their daughter. It was only natural, considering the big snow storm blowing that day made the climb suicidal for a girl like Sakura.

Or at least for a girl who they thought was Sakura.

Perhaps the parents should have more faith in the girl. Perhaps everyone should have more faith in the girl, because when she climbed the cliff like any other experienced ninjas. She slipped a few times but each time she held on and continued climbing until finally three hours later she was standing on the top of the cliff watching the almost invisible village below.

Sakura was definitely stronger than anyone expected.

Just like herself when she was young...

Watching her back at a distance, Tsunade could not help but feel nostalgic. She could not stop herself from remembering a time when Jirayia and Orochimaru were her team-mates and the Third was their teacher.

Those were the good old days.

Even when Jirayia pulled her pig tail every five minutes, or when Orochimaru always took her as a joke, even when the Third did not paid as much attention to her as he did to Orochimaru and Jirayia, or... But still, at times like that she could not help but admit those days had their charms. She missed them, the way Jirayia always get her in trouble, how the Third always seemed to be peaking in the bath houses, the way Orochimaru used to smirk – Even the times when she felt like a damsel in a tower, waiting to be saved because standing beside Orochimaru and Jirayia made she felt most useless and weak.

She missed those days. Looking up once more she found the girl was still standing in the snow, watching the invisible village below. She wondered if she was dwelling of her past as well.

"Sasuke!" the girl cried in a sudden burst of anger and frustration, "See if I care if you never come back!" She did not expect the girl to shout with such fury toward a boy she was sure the girl loved dearly. But she understood – it was not undeserved.

"One day you will not be able to say I am weak anymore, just you wait!"

It was odd, but as Sakura shouted her line, Tsunade saw a shadow standing next to her saying the same thing. It was her younger self, cheeks red from rage. Was not that what she once said to Orochimaru when she was younger?

Harunos, from what she heard, they were once a clan specialized in healing, but as the years gone by their glory faded and their name lost among the nobles. Thinking back to the conversations she had with the villagers about team seven, she realized no one had mentioned Sakura's name except for Kakashi. The lack of expectation was not surprising, for the last five generations no one in that family became a jounin. Obviously, no one expected anything from her either. Looking at the girl in front of her, she could not help but to think how wrong they _all_ were.

There and then Tsunade decided to train the girl, a girl who, in so many ways, was a mirror of herself. If Sakura was to be another of her responsibilities so be it.

* * *

If there was one thing that never changed in the world it would be the goodness of ramen. Naruto Uzumaki almost danced in joy as another bowl of fresh ramen was placed in front of him next to his stack of finished ramen bowls. He quickly calmed himself and after dipping his chopsticks into the hot noodles he began devouring the ramen at top speed. The years had not changed Naruto too much. Physically, he had grown taller and stronger, but personality-wise he did not change much. Even through all the hardships (the last few years was not in any mean easy on anyone in Konoha), Naruto was still able to maintain some of his carefree attitude.

He also definitely kept his love for ramen.

Someone sat heavily down beside him. "A bowl of miso ramen please."

Naruto instantly recognized the voice. He turned. There sitting wearily beside him was his old team-mate. "Sakura-chan! You are here!"

"Hello, Naruto," Sakura greeted in an exhausted air.

"What had you been doing? Is your mother being difficult again? You look tired," Naruto commented as he finished his bowl and ordered a second.

Sakura shook her head. "Mother is being good today, but you know," Sakura exclaimed with a wryly smile, waving her hand around listlessly, "How lazy Tsunade can get sometime."

"She is over working you again?" Naruto acquired, "I can always talk to her, she listens to me now a day." It was true, even the Hokage took some of his words into consideration. At the age of eighteen Naruto had become one of the most distinguished, if not the most accomplished Jounin in Leaf Country. Rumours flew about how he would be the next Hokage as soon as Tsunade retires.

Sakura never doubted the rumours, she knew he would become a Hokage one day – Just not at that moment.

Sakura laughed.

"Awww Sakura-chan you don't take me seriously, do you?" Naruto pouted playfully.

Sakura smiled at the thought but shook her head, "I think you overestimated yourself, Naruto, the Hokage may listen to you when you talks about tactics in a battle, but she would just ignore you when you talk about her work habits." She laughed. "It's alright though, healing everyone who she is suppose to heal herself gives me practices. If she hogs all the work then there would be no chance for me to get better don't you think?"

It was Naruto's turn to laugh. "You are so hard working." Then without thinking he added what he instantly regretted, "You are as hard working as Lee!" Naruto swore inwardly as he watched his friend froze, her features darkened. He was an idiot, mentioning that name so carelessly. One would think he had learned to think over every word he would say, especially now when every word could offend someone in the village. A fresh bowl of ramen was placed in front of him, but he ignored it. Instead with low cast eyes he muttered, "I am sorry... I didn't mean to – "

Sakura smiled. "It is alright," she quickly interrupted, "You don't need to apologize."

Naruto gave a nervous laughed and both turned their concentration to their noodle.

"Hey Naruto," Sakura said eventually, breaking the silence, "I just over reacted. I am sorry if I upset you."

Naruto looked at his friend silently. "Sakura-chan..." Naruto muttered when he saw the remorseful expression on Sakura's face, an expression that surpassed his own guilt. He never imagined five years ago that there would come a day when Sakura would tirelessly apologize for everything, even for what was obviously not her fault. Where was that carefree, spontaneous Sakura he had befriended with when they were twelve? He missed her, even for her inconsideration and selfishness. Unafraid to speak her mind, she would sometimes let slip malicious, crude comments that would hurt his feelings, but they were always never truly meant.

After the war all her words became so well thought out, so flawless. She had become so immensely careful...

Not that he could not call her changes negative, after all, kindness, and selflessness are virtues. In fact, many thought her changes were rather welcoming, well, at least those who did not know her well. Of course, Naruto, who was much more sensitive and perceptive than he was given credit for, and a close friend of Sakura knew better. Behind her kind words and gentle smiles, all he could see was darkness, her words all seemed hollowed, her smiles never reached her eyes.

Fate was harsh on everyone in the village, but fate was especially harsh on her the last few years. Ever since _his_ death, which was closely followed by her father's death and her mother's sickness there was impenetrable sadness, eating away the old Sakura he knew. He had a feeling; however, that out of the three unfortunate events _his_ death affected her most because her father died for the village along and her mother became sick because of her father – but Lee died for _her_. He cursed silently again at his own stupidity. If only he thought before he talked!

Who would have thought Lee, a boy who Sakura disliked at their first acquaintance would affect her so much at the end? If only he never died how much happier she would be! But then again, if _he_ never betrayed the village, chances were Lee would not die, and Sakura would never have come to rely on Lee for support in the first place and... Everything started with _his_ departure.

Once again he came to the same conclusion: it was all Uchiha's faults.

"Naruto?" Sakura inquired curiously, quickly pulling Naruto out of his thoughts.

Naruto turned to catch a glimpse of amusement sparkling in the jade eyes. Surprised and puzzled he replied, "What is it, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura laughed at the peculiar expression. She inquired lightly, "Were you thinking of killing someone again? Your eyebrows started twitching and you were shaking."

Naruto flushed. "No..."

Sakura smirked. "Now, now Naruto don't try to lie, especially when you are in front of the _two_ women who can catch any of your lies," she teased, her eyes looking beyond Naruto.

He began sheepishly without comprehending her words, "Sakura-chan you are always..." Then a realization hit him. "Two!" Naruto quickly turned around and found himself looking into a pair of white eyes. "Hinata-chan!"

"Were you lying again Naruto-kun?" Hinata questioned with an expression of fake disappointment as she sat down on the stool next to Naruto.

"No! I mean yes! I mean no! I mean-" Naruto stuttered, disorientated by the sudden appearance of the dark haired girl. He hit his forehead. He could never speak properly when this woman was around him, it was definitely a problem.

Hinata giggled. "I am sorry I kept you waiting, Naruto-kun, Ino-san was late for her shift."

Naruto replied cheerily. "It's alright Hinata-chan! I didn't wait for that long! See I have only finished four bowls of ramen."

Sakura smiled and silently stood up as Naruto ordered a bowl of ramen for himself and another bowl for Hinata. It was time for her to leave, Hinata was finally there.

* * *

Slowly she advanced to the edge of the cliff, where one foul step would result in her death...

She laughed.

Remembering the way her friends reacted the first time they saw her stood there she could not help herself but laugh. They all rushed to her and pulled her back in horror, thinking she was about to let herself fall. They did not need to worry, however, she never wished to fall, or to die, at least not after his sacrifice. In any case, when life reached rock bottom it could go no where but up.

After the war, life got better. Even if her life had become monotonous, everyday filled with the same routines and chores, she was definitely not unhappy. When she was bored with the routines, occasional missions would arise to satisfy her desire for adventures. Work had kept her busy and gave her an excuse to interact with everyone at a safe distance, never too close for comfort but never too far for the feeling of isolation. It was better this way: a life of stability, a life without risks. For once in her life she felt she had control.

Standing at such dangerous position was more or less a habit she developed when Tsunade challenged her to climb the cliff each day. Cliff climbing just no longer seemed complete until she could stand at the tip and look down to see how far up she went. Certainly not very many right handed female ninja could brag about climbing the cliff with her left hand in less than twenty minutes. As she retreated to saver ground, she smiled.

It was another day.

She had woken up at seven that morning, brushed her teeth, cooked breakfast and lunch for her mother, went to the caring center, fed her mother her breakfast, ate her own breakfast, reported to Tsunade, went to the hospital and treated the more serious cases, ate lunch at the ramen shop, finished healing the most serious injured, trained with Tsunade for an hour, and finally – finally she could have some time to herself.

It was not that she was antisocial, or that she disliked the people, but having to socialize so many hours in a day is straining, both physically and mentally. She was not like Naruto, she could not stand attention twenty-four seven.

When she was a child she seldom played with the other kids because when she did she always ended up being teased for her forehead. She had learned to amuse herself then with the swings in the park, crayons at her home and most importantly her precious books. Ino's arrival saved her from the lonely afternoons. She was thankful, of course, after all, no one truly liked the feeling of loneliness, but even then there would be days when she claimed to be sick just so she could hide behind her books.

She enjoyed time alone to relax, to think. No. She needed it to be sane.

It was only when she was alone could she finally put down the façade, put down her guard, put down the masks she wore when around others. She could finally be herself. She was finally back at her solitude, at the top of the cliff overlooking her home. It was a place where she knew she would be left undisturbed, that even if she was joined by the odd company she would be warned beforehand. There would be no surprise. She smiled wryly, life is better without surprises.

She sat down as she always did and looked at the tranquil view around her. Under the falling sun, and at such magnitude, the view looked almost identical to what her twelve years old self saw after hours of laborious climbing so many years ago with her two team mates and Kakashi by her side. In fact, when she looked around, she could almost see them: Naruto being his loud and obnoxious self, walking around the top like an idiot, Kakashi reading his favourite perverted books with a bored expression on his face, and Sasuke sitting somewhere alone, emotionless, staring intensely at the far off woods...

Sasuke, someone who she had not seen for years, she wondered if he was still alive.

Not that the fact concerned her in any way.

In the beginning she loved the boy, and when the war first began she hated him. She was disgusted by him, he had betrayed the village, betrayed his friends, and betrayed _her_. She blamed everything on him – Lee's death, her parent's death, the whole damned war. She wanted nothing more than to see him die. Painfully. Yet toward the end of the war, she found herself too tired, too weary, too drained to hate. The passion that drove her through the war suddenly diluted by her distain, leaving her with absolute indifference and a hatred for death, a reason for her current work as a healer.

She did not want to see anyone die in front of her anymore.

The war had been hard on Leaf village, but like magic, the village rebuilt itself almost instantly after the war. In terms of architectures, the village was almost back to its former glory. In terms of population; however, there was still a long way toward replacing all those who died in the war. After the war, having children just stopped being a popular idea among the survivors.

Not that anyone could really replace the dead.

Nor could any one in the village ever be the same after the war.

She looked at the sun, now almost half way behind the forest from far beyond and decided it was time to go. She still had to feed her mother dinner, eat dinner with Ino, head over to the hospital one more time for a final check before finally heading home to sleep. Tomorrow the cycle of routines will continue.

* * *

"Good morning," Sakura greeted with a smile as she walked passed the reception toward her locker. She supposed she should not be so cheerful. Being informed to head for the hospital instead of reporting to Tsunade in the morning usually meant a tragic end to an important mission. That could not be helped; however, her mother talked to her cohesively this morning, the first time in three weeks. Good days for her mother were rare, and she treasured any moment she could actually talk to her mother normally. As she pulled out a new clean doctor coat she asked the receptionist, who, if she remembered correctly, was called Uriko, "How many patients?"

"One, Sakura-san," the receptionist answered, her voice anxious.

Something about that answer did not sound right to Sakura's ears. She turned around, for the first time since her arrival at the hospital she took a good look at the young receptionist. Uriko looked apprehensive and nervous, she decided. Something was wrong. Something must be wrong. "Who is the patient?" she asked in alarm, her mind raced, her heart pounded. Naruto? But it could not be, she just saw Naruto yesterday night and he looked fine. Who then? Or could it be Ino? Did something happen to her?

The receptionist replied her thought. "The patient is a male, late teens or early twenties, unconscious. That is all the information I was given, Sakura-sama, so many people were crowding around him when he was transported here that I could not get a good look at him. He is in room 114, Tsunade is already there," the young woman said that all very quickly, never loosing the urgency in her voice before handing Sakura a folder.

Her alarm tripled in an instant. There were only a handful of times where Tsunade arrived at the hospital before eleven let alone eight in the morning. Something was definitely wrong. Without another word Sakura sped down the long corridor leading toward the room.

Two minutes and she arrived at the closed door of Room 114, but she could not bring herself to open the door. Instead she realized how fast her heart was beating, and how badly her hands were shaking. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but the gut feeling of dread would not disappear. Then a muffled conversation from the other side of the door caught her attention and she satisfied herself with ear dropping.

"Why is he here?" a loud voice, one Sakura recognized as Naruto's cried in anguish. Sakura let go of a breath she did not know she was holding. Naruto was fine. "Why did they not kill him when they could?"

"Because the last thing we need is another war. If we kill him, we will be giving other villages a reason to invade our village again," a calm voice, Tsunade's voice, explained.

"He is a missing-nin, Tsunade! For heaven's sake he is a dangerous criminal. He is under Orochimaru! For all we know this is all a part of Orochimaru's plan for a second attack! We need to kill him!" Naruto exclaimed. Another wave of dread swept passed Sakura. Someone working for Orochimaru, someone from Konoha, a missing-nin, there were only a few who fit the description. With the addition information she received from the receptionist – there was only one person who fit the description. She shook her head, refusing to consider the possibility. Her mouth felt dry.

It could not be him. It definitely could not be him.

Tsunade sucked in a subtle breath and commented, "Orochimaru has nothing to do with this."

"How would you know?" Naruto inquired critically, obviously did not accept the answer, even if it came from the Hokage herself.

For a moment Tsunade remained silent then she replied in a low voice, "Orochimaru is dead."

Sakura let out a gasp, sharing her surprise, Naruto whispered in equal disbelieve at the other side of the door, "That... that can't be true."

"But it is true, Naruto. Both Jiraiya and I were sceptical so we both went to see the body. It was Orochimaru, there was no question about that," Tsunade paused before she repeated softly more to convince herself than to convince Naruto, "Orochimaru is dead."

There was silence as the news slowly sank in. Naruto sighed, when he was finally calmed enough to talk again he spoke in an uncharacteristic solemn voice, "I just can't believe..." but he broke off in an equally uncharacteristic manner – Naruto never seemed to have speech problems before – a moment later he attempted again, "I always thought..." before breaking off, again failing miserably in speaking full sentence.

"I know, who would have thought Orochimaru would die like this," was all Tsunade said frankly. It was all she could say.

"You are shaking rather badly, Sakura," commented a deep voice behind her. Sakura jumped, relaxed only when she realized it was none other than Kakashi studying the door intensely. She concentrated so hard on the conversation that she did not notice his arrival.

"Kakashi-sensei..." Sakura greeted with a quick nod, "How long had you been here?"

"Just long enough to hear Orochimaru is dead," he replied grave and sombre before giving Sakura a long inquisitive look. Sakura stared back steadily. Finally Kakashi asked his question, "You know who is inside, right?"

"Naruto and Tsunade."

"I meant the patient," Kakashi interrupted blandly. Sakura shook her head and looked away. Kakashi continued his query, "Is it because you really don't know, or because you don't want to know?"

Sakura opened her mouth but Kakashi had no intention to let her speak. "I think its time for us to go in the room," Kakashi declared and before Sakura could protest, pushed open the door. The two talking occupants instantly turned toward the two new comers in silence. Naruto standing next to the window still looked too shock to talk. Tsunade, standing at the foot of the bed looked at the two expectantly. Kakashi nodded before he walked over and talked to the Hokage.

If she tried, she could probably listen in their conversation, but she tuned their voices out as soon as she noticed the bed behind them. There on the white bed in the white flushed room lied a teenager heavily bandaged. A few strands of his raven hair escaped the grasp of the bandages wrapped around his head and strongly contrasted their surrounding. She recognized him instantly.

In his coma he looked more peaceful than she had ever seen him. Under the morning sun light filtered by the thin curtains he looked ghostly white. He looked older, more mature, his hair grew longer but his chakra felt the same. Sasuke, she had no question. It had to be him.

"He was found unconscious near the border." Sakura jumped again in alarm, for the second time in the day she was caught off guard by her old teacher. Kakashi's right eye caught hers before quickly shifting back to the patient, it was only a moment, but it was enough to ask the unspoken question: _"Was it because you really did not know, or because you did not want to know?"_

* * *

Chapter One Ends

* * *

Review if you like. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: The Naruto characters are not mine.

* * *

**Cycles in Life - Chapter 2**

* * *

"Lee-san, I am here."

She stared at the dark stone memorial in front of her and traced his name sentimentally. The stone did not reply. Of course there was no reply. Yet, she found herself obligated to explain herself all the same, "I could not sleep so I came."

She gave up after two hours watching the moon on her bed. Instead, she dressed herself and walked out of her large house, slamming the heavy wooden door in the process. Once upon a time she would have taken more care, worried that she would wake her parents from their shallow sleep, but after becoming its sole occupant, that was no longer a concern.

She caught a glimpse of the house as she turned to close the wooden gate in the front. She could not help but notice, with some pain, how disconsolate her home looked under the dim light. The grass obviously needed some cutting, but that was not it, she decided. It was the cheery trees, the favourite kind of trees in her family, planted all around her home. Or to be more precise, it was the forbidding shadows they cast. With dried leaves hanging on the barren branches threatening the join the rest on the ground below, their shadows resembled odd claws, trying to devoir everything into darkness. Autumn was never a good season for cheery trees.

She supposed, everything had its own time.

It dawned on her during her father's funeral that there was a large possibility she would become the last Haruno alive in Konoha, her father was dead, and aside from her grandfather, who died that following year, no one else held the last name Haruno in the village. At first she was angry at herself for not realizing something so blazingly obvious sooner.

Then it hit her - no one else noticed either.

It just seemed so natural. Everyone grew up with the knowledge that Haruno was once a powerful clan, but everyone also knew Haruno was no longer a considered a clan. They knew the family became smaller every generation; that its population had diminished from the two hundreds members to the less than a handful. They knew as the blood got thinner, the family became weaker, until pathetically, no one became more than a Chuunin for the last five generations. The death of such a 'clan' was like an old man dying of old age. It was not exciting. It was not special.

It was totally expected and because it was expected it was not tragic. Unfortunate is when a clan perish suddenly in its prime. Tragedies occur when a young person die before his time...

"The mission to the Cloud country was good, Lee-san. Negotiation was flawless, they agreed to our every term after a few fights. Naruto did most of the work of course, but you know how careless he is, there were a few times when I had to stop him from hurting himself..." she laughed softly at this but quickly faded into silence. Her eyes landed on the carved name, around her the only sound was the crickets.

Crickets... all she could hear _that_ night were crickets. They had just finished attending a cerebration for their successful mission with the others. Ino left with Shikamaru and Naruto left with Hinata, leaving them awkwardly alone. Lee offered to walk her home. She did not decline because their homes were both at the same side of town and she thought he was a little too drunk to go home alone.

For some reason she tripped and would have fallen if Lee did not steady her. Yet, instead of letting her go when he was sure she was okay, he held on. Silently he gazed into her eyes before slowly leaning forward. His objective was quite obvious. He must have wanted to kiss her. If the thousands of invitations he gave her to dates told her anything, it was that he probably wanted to kiss her for a long time but never had the courage until that night when alcohol loosened his mind.

That night she ducked away from the kiss.

It was not that she disliked him, or she disliked the fact he was drunk. It was just pure instincts that built up through the years, but of course to Lee it as a serious rejection. The following month he did nothing except to avoid any contacts with her and she did not see him again until... until that fight.

If only she did not avoid that kiss that night. If only she had trained herself seriously enough to protect herself. If only she had been less selfish and cared more about what was around her. If only she ran faster that day when she heard her home was being attack... How different could her life be now?

She never did anything right.

She was so stupid back then.

An owl hooted.

She looked up into the sky where the crescent moon hanged in the clear sky. A crescent moon hanged in the sky the night when _he_ left. In a few days he would be likely be awake again, and when that happen she imagine Sasuke -

Sasuke, the boy who betrayed the village, betrayed her, and who deserved neither her respect nor admiration; yet, he was the boy who she gave all her childhood attention. He had once again successfully found his way into her mind. Shame, guilt, frustration, and anger all mixed in one as she slammed her fist into the ground.

She was so stupid back then.

She was stupid still.

Lee, the boy who loved his village, loved her, and who gave her his life so that she may continue live. He was the boy who deserved all her respect and admiration; yet, he was the one who never gets any of her attention when he was alive: She owed everything to him.

The least she could do was think only of him in front of his grave.

Yet, she could not do even that.

* * *

He had always pride himself for being an early riser. Certainly the ability to wake up before six every morning without the use of an alarm clock must be considered a skill. This morning, he took long strides into the almost empty main street of Konoha. He walked without thinking of a destination, but like always his feet led him to the hero's memorial.

The hero's memorial was a rather popular place for ninjas, since being a ninja was a high risk occupation. Yet at a time when most ninjas were still in bed, Kakashi reasoned he would be the only one there as he often was. Not today, it seemed. He was surprised when he saw a woman standing in front of the memorial. From afar he could not see her clearly but her distinct pink hair gave her identity away. It was Sakura Haruno, a member of team seven, _his_ team seven. A member of the first team he led, the _only_ team he led.

She never mixes with death in his mind, although nowadays, they always seemed to be side by side in reality. Sakura was standing in front of the memorial again, and by the looks of it, this time she had stood there for the whole night. Kakashi sighed.

Everything started out so well, how did it come to this?

"Good morning, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura greeted nonchalantly without turning.

She was once a very warm person, when ever she greeted people she used to greet with an exaggerated wave and a bright smile. Of course he did not choose her as a member of his team just for that quality, but certainly it was one of the reasons. He could not say she became unfriendly; however, she only became more timid and somewhat more distant.

Kakashi walked toward Sakura, looking perfectly forward at the memorial, although all he really wanted to do was to scream at the girl for being a reminder of how much things had changed in the last five years. "You had been standing here the whole night hadn't you?"

"I could not sleep, so I came," she said evenly as her lips curled into a weak smile.

Kakashi shook his head. This was not the first time he saw the girl there at such an hour, she always come there the night after a mission. He respected her reason for coming there: Lee was a worthy precious person. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, he could not help but find the thought of Sakura endlessly lamenting over the past painful. "No one can change the past, you know."

He did not realize he spoke his thought until he sensed Sakura tensed beside him. He turned just in time to catch a glimpse of anguish flashed past her eyes before she closed her them, reclaiming her composure. When she spoke again her reply was calculated, "I am not trying to change the past."

"No you are not," Kakashi agreed with a wistful sigh, "You are only regretting."

She quietly turned toward him, her eyes drilled straight into his uncovered eye. "You don't understand."

Watching her darkened countenance, Kakashi wondered if it was right for him to bring up such topic. Perhaps he should have just talked about the weather, or maybe his morning, but as he said himself he could not change the past. The damage was already done and he realized there was nothing to do but to continue. "I came here every day I could in the last ten years, thinking of the people I loved, punishing myself for all the mistakes I had made. I understand, Sakura."

She finally looked away, her gaze momentarily lingered on the memorial before she closed her eyes. "Then you should also understand why I can never forgive myself," she stated quietly. When she opened her eyes again, she looked away, tried and defeated. "I am sorry, I am tired, Kakashi-sensei, I think I will go home and take a nap before I head to the hospital, good bye."

He did not turn to watch her go.

Instead, he closed his eyes and thought of the group he was in all those years ago. He remembered the Fourth and his colourful lessons, the boy who died for him, and the girl who drifted away after their team mate's death. By the time the Fourth died he found his relationship with his remaining team mate deteriorated to non-speaking terms. The team he belonged to was dead and he could not help but feel responsible for its downfall.

It had always been his secret desire to relive his life through these three, to undo all his mistakes by preventing them from making the same ones. In a way, he accepted Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto as his pupils when he never accepted anyone else for their personalities, their strengths and weaknesses - almost a complete copy of his dead team. He wanted them to grow to their full potential but at the same time stay as friends. He did not want them regretting about their pasts when they are twenty five. He wanted them to be happy.

He tried, but it was all so futile, for all he could see, Team seven had failed rather miserably at staying as a team. Although every member managed to stay alive, it seemed to him that history may only be repeating itself.

* * *

Ino found herself one of the few people who took the news of Sasuke's return happily. To such unbelievable news, she checked the rumour's credibility for herself. When she saw him, unconscious but ever more handsome, she found herself quite happy. Not for herself as she would have been five years ago, but for Sakura.

Perhaps Forehead Girl could find herself again.

It was quite a serene scene seeing Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke all in the same room. Although Naruto was still angry with Sasuke, Sasuke was probably still a revengeful bastard, and Sakura still hurt from everything she had been through, Ino thought maybe this meeting would heal each of their wounds. Of course, there were no guarantees about a happy ending, happy endings are quite rare for ninjas as powerful as they are, but perhaps like their unusual powers, they would be special ones. Perhaps...

"Hey, Ino what are you thinking about?" asked a deep voice beside her.

She looked over to her left at a teenage boy lying on the floor and glancing at her with an expression of deep puzzlement. Amused, she smiled and replied playfully, "Sasuke."

A peculiour expression spread onto his face as he tried to keep a calm face but failed quite miserably. "Sasuke?"

Ino giggled. "Are you jealous, Shikamaru?"

"Definitely not," Shikmaru stubbornly replied with scowl before turning his attention back to the clouds. "You are just so troublesome."

Ino narrowed her eyes dangerously. "What did you say?"

"You are so trou-" Shikamaru never finished repeating his sentence because he found Ino suddenly kneeling next to him with a shuriken in hand.

"Say that one more time and you will be deader than dead!" Ino threatened, as she lowered her shuriken until it was only an inch from his neck rather menacingly.

Shikamaru gulped, fighting the temptation to point out the impossibility to be 'deader than dead'. Girls are scary, especially when they are angry. Ino just happened to be the scariest.

Damn. He hated girls.

* * *

Tsunade looked at the stacks of paper on her table and sighed. She shook her head in dismay. She had only been away for three hours, no doubt all those papers were inquiries from the Nobles about the Uchiha problem.

News of an unconscious Sasuke Uchiha was found about a mile away from the gate of the hidden leave village spread quickly like an autumn fire. What little people knew was the peculiar situation he was found in: at the bottom of the cliff where Orochimaru was found dead, lying perfectly straight as if he was merely sleeping. Of course physically he was almost beyond repair, had he came to the hospital a few minutes later they might not be able to save him. She could only conclude fate was on his side this time.

As for Orochimaru, his death was kept secret for the last month to prevent further chaos.

She recalled feeling something was wrong that morning, an ill premonition she could not shake off, then, around noon she felt his death. It was an odd feeling, like the disappearance of a weight she never knew she carried. She felt the vanishing of a great source of chakra, Orochimaru's chakra.

A few moments after, she was joined by Jiraiya, who shared identical feelings rushed to see her in alarm, while doing what he often did when he was nervous ?babbling. She was saved from his non-stop talking by a timely messenger eagle that flew into her office with the scribbled message: _Sasuke Uchiha Orochimaru suspicious finds follow eagle._

She still could not believe the irony, that after all these years of seeking for immortality, Orochimaru would die before both Jiraiya and her in such an unsightly way. It was quite a demoralizing death, and she was sure it was equally painful.

Orochimaru's mangled corpse only give rise to more questions, the two main wounds on his body were two gaping holes, too large to be the work of Chidori. The two holes were mortal wounds, but the actual cause of death was dehydration. By the time the jounins found Orochimaru he was sucked dried and resembled mummies from Sand village.

So many questions, so little answers, well, at least until little Uchiha wakes up...

* * *

"What do you think? Will he wake up soon?"

"They said any moment."

"I know, but they said that for the last two weeks, honestly if I have to sit here for two more weeks I will go insane."

Ah. So he did not die.

He could hear voices, at first they sounded distant, but as time passed they became closer until eventually he was convinced the two women speaking were just beside him. Curiosity was getting to him, but years of experience told him gathering information about unknown environment is always a good idea, so he forced his eyes to stay shut. He wondered who the speakers were, their voices sounded much too gentle to be from someone from Sound.

They smelled too clean too.

He laughed at himself mentally, how long had it been since he allowed himself to make such trivial observations? Too long perhaps, in Sound you must always be on guard because assassination was very popular in that country. He was at least confronted by a hundred attempted assassins in the short five years he lived there, but after a while one gets used to them.

He assessed his situation and options. From the sterilized smell gave away his current location: a hospital. The woman's conversations told him they were probably nurses who have no idea of his current consciousness. What they said was probably foolishly unguarded, and therefore, reliable.

"I hate the tight security. It makes me feel like I am the criminal just sitting here."

"I know! He is a missing ninja and all, but they purposely did not finish healing his legs, it is impossible to jump around with disabled legs. I don't see the fuss."

Silently he cerebrated his success in finding more useful information from the two unsuspecting nurse. Deliberately not healing his legs was certainly an intelligent move for his enemies, seeing their main priority was his captivity and not his death. Though, as much as he was thankful he could only conclude it was foolish that their priority was not the latter.

"In my opinion"

There the girl was interrupted by the opening of the door.

"Good morning, Sakura-sama," the two nurses greeted the new arrival.

"Did he show any sign of consciousness?" The nurses said nothing, but a reply must have been given because 'Sakura-sama' added after a pause, "Page for me right away if you do see any signs."

The door was quietly shut close.

Sasuke found his mind spinning.

"If Sakura-sama did not personally put me in charge of watching over him, I would never agree on this. But it is hard to say 'no' to her."

"It is impossible actually, she asked me in a way I could not say anything negative. But enough of this, are we still watching the movie on..."

Sakura-sama... could it be? The last he heard of her was that she became an excellent healer, but he knew better than to jump into conclusion so soon. Sakura was, afterall, a rather popular name for girls. It would not surprise him if this Sakura was not that Sakura... But her voice ?Sakura-sama's voice did somewhat resembled the voice of hers, more melancholy, reserved, and calculating, but it had been five years and...

Five years are plenty time for a person to change beyond recognition.

The door opened again.

"Is he awake yet?" asked an impatient voice, a male's voice.

"Naruto-san! We were not told you would come."

Naruto was not a common name.

"Oh I just thought I should drop by for a visit after my mission."

There were no questions; his voice was much too familiar.

"We will leave you with him then." The door was opened.

"Hey, can you inform Sakura of my return?"

"Of course." The door was shut.

So he was in Leaf. After so many years he was back in Leaf. He never imagined himself returning in such a manner, no, he had given up the idea of returning peacefully for a long time. He was convinced if he ever see both Naruto and Sakura again it would be in a battle.

That would be the natural course, but fate, it seemed, had ideas of her own.

The door was pushed violently opened before it was slammed shut in the same fashion. A few quick steps could be heard before Sakura spoke, "Naruto, you are back early!"

"Yes, Sakura, the mission was less exciting than expected," he joked before speaking in a lower voice, "But I don't think I am the only surprise." There was a slight break before he whispered, "I think our friend is awake."

"I know," came the hushed but surprising reply, "I thought I should let him be until you come." She ignored Naruto's snort and addressed directly to Sasuke in a determined tone, "Quit pretending, Sasuke."

There was nothing left to do but surrender in defeat, slowly he opened his eyes. As he adjusted to the light, a bitter smirk formed on his pale face. "You caught me."

The arrival of such a day had been in their mind for years, they had thought thoroughly on how they should act and what they should say, yet thinking was very different than experiencing. Instead of their pre-planned speeches, each found themselves speechless as they stared at each other. There were no hugs, no kisses, only severe silence as the tension raise to an almost unbearable level.

Finally, Sasuke decided to sit up.

Instantly, the three went back into motion.

"There is no point in trying to escape right now, Uchiha, there are plenty of Anbu out there," Naruto gave his grave warning, unconsciously shifted into his battle stance.

"You are as brainless as always," Sasuke retorted wryly, "Leaving so soon is hardly my inclination."

For one so determined to be angered, any words was an insult. Naruto roughly grabbed Sasuke by his shirt. "What did you say?" He muttered dangerously, "Don't you understand your life is in our hands?"

Sasuke only smirked. "Can you hurt me?" He was sure the Hokage gave orders to keep him alive. If given the chance, he was convinced Naruto would kill him with no hesitation. Simply being alive was enough prove his life was beyond Naruto's grasp.

"Bastard!" Naruto raised his fist but dropped it after some contemplation. Sasuke calmly pulled Naruto's hand off his shirt and laughed. Naruto glowered, Sasuke stared back unreadable, neither remembered the existence their other ex-team mate.

His returned had already made a considerable impact in her, but while he was unconscious all she felt was concern. His betrayal hit her with renewed velocity as she looked at him, wide awake and remorseless. That and the painful sight of Naruto, bounded by his promise to the Hokage, unable to protect himself from the attacks of Sasuke's provocative sarcasm fused into unfamiliar and blinding rage. Sakura thought the war had numbed her feelings, that she would never feel any emotion so violently again, but she was very wrong.

Before she could stop herself, her fist connected to his unsuspected cheek with a sturdy punch.

The accustomed tang of blood instantly filled his mouth. Of all the people in Leaf, he never expected Sakura to be the one to lash out so fiercely at him. Immovable by surprise, Sasuke could only watch as Sakura, distressed, astonished, and shocked promptly left the room without a word.

* * *

Chapter two ends.

* * *

Yo, thank you for reading. If you have more time to waste then please review, and after that promtly read my new Naruto story. 


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